An Army of One

In my opinion, we have become a more individualistic culture. We each have our own cell phones, our own computers, our own personal bubbles. Whenever I go visit my friend at his apartment I usually pass by a few other residents, and since I live right off campus in a very friendly neighborhood I usually give them the “acknowledgement smile,” as like a—hey we both hang out in the same place, that is cool, have a good day—kind of thing.

But all I usually receive back is the chilling look of confusion. Like why would I even acknowledge them? Why no sense of community? It may be because it is in ghetto Santa Ana and I find it to be generally scary, and less of a happy place, but I have experienced the same thing before.

How is it that we can pour out our hearts on a MySpace page but we can’t even talk to the people closest to us? Have we become so self-reliant that we are spending all our time cyber socializing instead of real human interaction? After all, I am currently writing a blog…

I think one of the greatest examples of this is the Army’s change of slogan, which they launched in 2001, entitled, “An Army of One.” The Army used to tell people to, “Be All You Can Be,” but it is now re-branded to attract new youthful recruits. After the $150 million dollar campaign launched army enlistment surged.

According to “Branded,” This ad is designed to pander to Generation Y’s self interest and taste, and in the words of one potential recruit, has “real cool” imagery. Oh and it doesn’t just stop there. The U.S. Army has even developed a video game: a “highly realistic and innovative” first-person shooter game that puts a player inside an army unit. In a radio interview in 2002, an army spokesman described the game as one of the new methods the military was using “to reach young people” over thirteen and to “inspire people regarding their career choices.” Cute.